touchy

[ tuhch-ee ]

adjective

, touch·i·er, touch·i·est.

1. apt to take offense on slight provocation; irritable:

   He is very touchy when he's sick.

   Synonyms: cranky, snappish, edgy, irascible, testy

2. requiring caution, tactfulness, or expert handling; precarious; risky:

   a touchy subject; a touchy situation.

3. sensitive to touch.
4. easily ignited, as tinder.

touchy

/ ˈtʌtʃɪ /

adjective

1. easily upset or irritated; oversensitive
2. extremely risky
3. easily ignited

Derived Forms

• ˈtouchiness, noun
• ˈtouchily, adverb

Other Words From

• touchi·ly adverb
• touchi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of touchy¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of techy ² (a variant of tetchy ( def ) ), by association with touch

Synonym Study

See irritable.

Example Sentences

He is too needy, too touchy, too wanting of Eugene’s attention, which is doled out sparingly.

From Los Angeles Times

However, they kept being more and more touchy in bed, talking about how much I turned them on and how they weren’t like other male-bodied folks.

From Los Angeles Times

He was always touchy, but lately has decompensated so much that he can't handle anything but a Fox News host asking how he got to be so awesome.

From Salon

“With AI in videos it’s harder to know if someone’s original artwork has been stolen, it’s a really touchy subject”.

From BBC

Do business people want to see that horse, now creaking with age and even more touchy and unpredictable, let loose in the ICU all over again?

From Salon

Related Words

• delicate
• dicey
• hypersensitive
• jumpy
• precarious
• risky
• sensitive
• testy
• ticklish
• tricky
• uptight
• volatile